Golden Autumn - Part Two
This episode is part of a larger story, Soft Touch. If you haven’t yet, you can go back and read it from the beginning right here. This episode contains mature content.
I can’t tell if it’s just the glow of satisfaction hanging over all of us on the team right now, but it’s a beautiful day in Port Sitka. Sitting outside at the tavern Calla took us to, we have a nice eyeful of it. The sky is a pale gold at the horizon, fading upwards into blue. The sea is a sheet of glassy blue-green. White-tipped waves roll across it at a leisurely pace, glittering in the sunlight.
Calla didn’t take us to the part of town more popular with tourists. We’re further off down the shore, and things look different here. The view is dominated by the algae-encrusted wooden quays set into the harbor. Large, sturdy ships that are clearly built for work instead of leisure are docked along them. The people moving around on them are clearly here to work, too. From the tavern set across from the docks we can see them across the water, hurrying around.
I haven’t had much of an opportunity to see this part of Port Sitka, so I’ve been watching them with interest. This place might not be as picturesque or quaint as downtown, but it has its own sort of charm to it. I suspect that the tavern does a lot of its business with sailors, given the oceanic decor, the binnacle lamps inside, the framed old photos of crews and their ships on the walls.
The proprietors know how to make a hot, hearty meal. Calla delivered on the breakfast she promised us. The smell of the food drew a collective sigh of pure bliss from the team when the waitress set out our many plates.
Every one of us is an exhausted, mud-covered wreck, but we all eagerly dove in at once. We’re only just starting to slow down. There’s a growing stack of empty plates at the center of our table.
“I can’t believe we all came out of this weekend pretty much unhurt,” I admit, reaching over to steal one of Aiden’s french fries.
Ralph leans his elbows against the table and takes a sip from his cold beer, raising one eyebrow in that way he has. “I guess Bigfoot was feeling shy, huh, Jamie?”
“Okay, dude, do you really expect me to believe there’s no part of you that’s even a little afraid of Bigfoot?”
“Yes,” Ralph answers firmly.
“Noah, help me out. How do you feel about Bigfoot?”
“I’d like to meet him,” Noah says solemnly. “Think I came pretty close once at my cousin’s birthday party.”
“Then again,” Ralph goes on, before I can ask any follow-up questions about that baffling answer, “I’ve seen a saucepan throw itself through the air like a clay pigeon, so I guess maybe I should broaden my mind.”
“Dude, your mind’s been put through enough,” Aiden informs him. “You had so many angry dogs run right at you, all at once.”
“Yeah, how are you doing with that, man?” I ask, catching Ralph’s eye in concern. “Processing that experience okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” he says blankly, staring down at his beer. “All good. It didn’t - totally didn’t mess me up at all.”
Noah makes a sympathetic sound. “Feels unfair, man! Ralph is out here facing his actual nightmares, meanwhile I basically got everything I wanted out of this trip, short of a chance to do some speed bag moves on Hanely’s nose. But it got broken anyway, so.”
Aiden looks at Noah with obvious affection in his blue eyes. “You also took one hell of a beating, Noosh. You just got too excited to notice. I mean, look at yourself. Look at all of us.”
“Okay, fair enough,” Noah snickers, tucking a mud-coated strand of his long hair behind his ear. “Now that you mention it I’m pretty fuckin’ tired. Was all worth it, though, especially to see that hotel in a heap. And the squad car!”
A dreamy smile floats through Noah’s eyes, like it’s truly one of his fondest memories.
“Makes my heart glow, man,” he says happily, pressing the side of his fist to his chest. “Like when Raj suddenly goes wild on the dance floor.”
“I do love when that happens,” I laugh, remembering Raj dancing his heart out at the wedding, both leis around his neck and flying wildly around him. “Aw, you’re so excited to see them, aren’t you, Noah? Raj, Mel, Nik?”
Noah drops his fist onto the table. I draw back in surprise as he aggressively leans forward to catch my eye.
“Man, here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m going right back and get all three of them, and tonight we’re gonna go park at the beach and watch the sunset in the back of Raj’s truck with dinner, some blankets, and a few frosty drinks. That’s the plan, so nobody better get in my way.”
“Sounds perfect,” Calla says approvingly, reappearing with a second piece of cornbread from the tavern. She drops down next to Ralph and leans comfortably back against him. “You all definitely deserve some rest, if you really took care of one of my grandma’s illusions. I can’t imagine that was easy. Just, um. Just looking at you guys.”
“Yeah, it was a lot,” I answer dazedly, then look up to meet Calla’s hazel eyes. “Calla, did you know that Ralph can shoot, like, really shoot?”
“Mhm?”
She’s totally unsurprised, clearly. If anything Ralph is the one who looks a little surprised, like he didn’t tell Calla that and he’s not sure how she knows about it.
“Well - I sure as hell didn’t know!” I sputter.
“Shit, I knew.” Noah winces deeply at some memory, pressing his palm to his ribs. “You don’t want to play paintball or airsoft against this guy, either. Take my word for it. We’d all be looking worse than this.”
“I’m just glad you guys are okay,” Calla says, nibbling on a piece of cornbread. “I really don’t think my grandmas realized how hard this would be when they asked you to do it.”
“No worries,” I answer tiredly, as Aiden gives her a thumbs-up without opening his eyes. “We’re gonna do it. We promised.”
Calla rewards us with a small, swift smile. “Which illusion is up next?”
“There kind of isn’t one, this time,” I explain. “One of the illusions was already destroyed by the Sorcerer, so we don’t need to dispel him. But we do need to go to his territory and get something.”
“Okay, and where’s that?”
“We’re not exactly sure,” Aiden mumbles sleepily, resting his chin on his palm. “Somewhere around where the forest starts growing up the mountains.”
Calla lifts her eyebrows. “Uh oh. Really?”
My tired eyes open up some more. “Why uh oh?”
“Because there was a landslide up there that blocked off the road that leads to all the mountain hiking paths. It’s been closed off for a couple of months now. Government’s trying to figure out what to do about it. They can’t really move anything, because the area is still unstable.”
“Wait, what?” I stare at Calla in disbelief. “But there must be another way to get to that part of the forest, right? It can’t just be blocked off indefinitely!”
“It is blocked off indefinitely, unless you’re prepared to hike for like three straight days just to get to the trails, but…” Calla pauses thoughtfully, her eyes drifting past me to the docks. “Oh, wait - you could go by boat! Yeah, sometimes people camp out by the mountain for fishing trips, and that’s how they get there.”
“By boat?” I ask in dismay.
“Better get your captain’s license, Jamie,” Noah says brightly.
“Oh, sure, dude, fucking just master the care and handling and driving of a boat for this!”
“You’re a scientist, it’s the ocean,” Noah points out, then stops, like that statement resolved everything.
“Wh-? Okay, first of all I’m a science teacher, not a scientist, and second of all, that doesn’t mean I know about boats! If anything I know more about the ocean, and all of its many dangers! Oh, god, I was just reading that book about subduction!”
“Sounds sexy,” Aiden mumbles.
“Oh, yes, if megathrust earthquakes and seismic spasms and magma swelling and imminent eruptions sound sexy to you…” I trail off, my eyebrows dropping low in confusion. “Wait, that all does sound kind of sexy.”
Aiden and Ralph both start laughing, and Noah grins from ear to ear.
“Sounds filthy,” he answers enthusiastically. “Hey, uh - how’s a guy cause a megathrust earthquake, Jamie? If you don’t mind me asking? For science and learnin’ purposes, of course.”
“I’d have gotten better grades if our science teacher talked like that, Keane,” Aiden laughs tiredly.
“Okay, okay. I failed to make my point, and now Noah wants to cause an earthquake directly. I’ll own my mistakes. But I’m not driving a boat.”
“Relax, Jamie, it won’t be necessary,” Calla laughs, popping the last piece of cornbread into her mouth. “This is a seafaring town, remember? There are plenty of sailors around.”
I turn my gaze down on the docks. There are a number of mid-sized boats floating there, but also one bigger one, built to go out to sea for longer stretches of time. On the deck I can see a few men, bare to the waist, giving themselves a wash in the sunshine. But all told…
“I don’t really see a lot of sailors,” I realize out loud. “It’s pretty empty around here.”
“Yeah,” Calla concedes. “Right now it is. But that’s because they’re all wrapping up their summer expeditions and heading back home. If you come back to this tavern two weeks from now you won’t be able to get a table, I guarantee it. And the docks will be like a giant beehive. Did you notice a lot of locals watching the water?”
I actually did, and I was wondering about it. Lots of eyes are turned out to the sea today, watching the horizon. Some of the people walking along the docks are doing it right now.
“They’re waiting for their people to come home,” Calla explains, then nods her head at the tavern. “You could probably ask the bartender who she’d recommend for a private excursion, once everyone’s back in town. Lots of sailors come directly to the tavern once they’re off the boat.”
Aiden and I exchange a thoughtful look.
“Sounds like a place to start,” he says drowsily. “Most importantly it’s not for two weeks, which means I can go be an archivist again. I want to be just an archivist again, for a little while.”
I breathe out an adoring laugh, drawing his sleepy self closer to me. “Thanks, Calla. We appreciate the tip.”
“No problem.” She drops her gaze to the saucepan on my lap. “Guess you guys will have time to go back to Ketterbridge and cook with your living saucepan. That you’re bringing home.”
“Oh, what else could we do?” I protest, hugging it to myself. “Tell it that it can’t come with us? I don’t think it would understand.”
Calla leans down to look at it, and it leans forward in a friendly way to meet her.
“It’s kind of cute, for a saucepan,” she says, then cringes deeply, pressing her fingertips to her temple. “Oh, god. What am I saying?”
Ralph lets out a tired laugh. “Good, have a taste of the babel and mayhem I put up with this weekend.”
He was very much part of the babel and mayhem, I mouth at Calla, who grins at me.
She gets up, stretching her arms over her head. “Ralph, should I come with you back to Ketterbridge for tonight? I still have my suitcase in my car, so I don’t need to stop at home first. But that was a long flight, so I really want to take a nap when we get there. That sound okay?”
“Thank god,” he sighs happily, tossing his napkin onto his plate as he stands up. “Noosh, you riding with us?”
“Yeah, I’ve gotta take a shower and fix myself up at your place before I go home,” Noah yawns. “Otherwise Raj and Mel are gonna wonder what the hell happened to me. Can’t have them asking questions about it.”
Aiden wakes up a little more, stealing a swift glance at Noah. A flash of guilt goes through his blue eyes. He catches Noah’s wrist as he starts to get up.
“Noosh - I’m gonna tell them.”
Noah smiles tiredly down at him. “I know you will, man. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been part of this.”
“Soon. I promise. Ripley, too.”
“Sweet. That’s my family covered.” Noah yawns again, clasping Aiden’s arm as he goes past. “Anyways, we’re out. You guys get home safe. Let Keane drive.”
I give Ralph and Noah a grateful look as Ralph hands me his car keys. “Thanks, you guys. For all your help, and-”
“Don’t mention it.” Ralph gives my shoulder a slap, then takes Calla’s hand. “See you back home.”
Apparently that’s all the talking we’re doing about this. Aiden didn’t even get a chance to say thank you at all, but I guess - maybe it’s one of those silent brother communications that passes under my radar. Neither Ralph nor Noah is giving any indication that they’re unaware of how much Aiden appreciates what they did.
I affectionately watch them go, then set the saucepan aside and fold my arms around Aiden’s sleepy, slumped-over self.
“Hi, you.”
“Hi,” he mumbles, too tired to lift his head.
“What do you want to do now, Callahan?”
“Mmm… take you home and make you moan into my mouth.”
“Wh-?” I let out a startled laugh, blushing wildly. “Where’d that just come from? You’re not even awake!”
“I don’t know,” comes the mumbled, drowsy answer. “You were talking about all that stuff.”
“What stuff-?”
“Tell me more about megathrust earthquakes.”
“Oh, my god. Are you serious? You guys just hear the word ‘thrust’ and that’s it, huh? That’s all it takes for you.”
“More,” he insists.
I bite back another laugh, shaking my head at him. “Okay, so two tectonic plates make contact with each other, right? In some cases the friction can lock them together. Where they meet they form something called a thrust fault, and-”
I stop as Aiden opens one eye to look at me, a playful purr coming into his voice. “I like the sound of this already.”
“Shut up!” I laugh, officially breaking. “Oh, god. Let me get you home, you giant, horny disaster.”
“I’m not giant,” he protests indignantly.
“No point in denying the other allegations,” I laugh, to a soft huff of helpless laughter from him. “Come on, babe. You can’t fall asleep at a table at a tavern. The saucepan is worried about you.”
Aiden manages to lift his head to look down at the saucepan, which has hopped down onto the grass to press itself anxiously against his legs. I’m glad we’re the only ones at the outside tables, or that would be hard to explain.
“I’m fine,” Aiden murmurs reassuringly, reaching down to pick it up. “Don’t you move around while we walk back to the car, though.”
The saucepan complies, going still in Aiden’s arms. He drags himself up from the table, then leans heavily on my shoulder when I offer it to him. Together we slowly make our way around the tavern and up the street towards Ralph’s car.
Looking around at the shops and restaurants up and down the sidewalk, I notice more of what Calla pointed out. Lots of faces turning to gaze out at the ocean, like they know the ship they’re waiting for, the one with their person on it, might be back any day now.
At the end of the block we pass a bakery, where a woman with pastel pink hair, flour on her hands, and a baker’s apron over her clothes is standing by the display window. Staring intently out at the sea, with impatient excitement in her eyes. She blushes and hurries back behind the counter when one of the other employees says something to her.
The whole town really must be waiting for its sailors to come back. I guess now we are, too, although we don’t know who specifically we’re waiting for just yet.
I help Aiden into the passenger’s seat of Ralph’s car. I stop and look at him for a moment once I’m in the driver’s seat, my heart fluttering and stumbling. I wonder how many times I’ve seen him like this, passing out in the passenger’s seat after an exhausting, amazing feat of magic.
Some of those times were when we were just friends, so I couldn’t kiss his sleepy face all over like I wanted to. The thought causes me to take full advantage of the fact that I can now, until Aiden breathes out a huffing laugh and gently pushes me away. He settles back into the seat, letting the saucepan sit on his lap.
I stick the keys in the ignition, but my phone starts buzzing before we can go anywhere. Tired as I am, I answer it without looking at who’s calling.
“Hello?”
“Jamie, buenos días. I’m glad to hear your voice.”
“Hey, Gabby! Oh, are you? That’s nice.”
“Yes, well,” she answers, with fond exasperation in her voice, “The last time I heard from you, you were out in the forest by a creepy hotel, hunting some kind of monster, surrounded by cops and armed people who were feeling very nervous and worked up. That was at the start of this weekend, and I’ve heard nothing since, so…”
“Oh, god, Gabby, I’m so sorry! I should have called you back and updated you, everything just got so crazy - but it all worked out! Mostly. The saucepan was unexpected, but it’s fine. Oh, and the - the hotel fell over.”
“What? You must be exhausted, Jamie. You just said that the hotel fell over.”
“I am exhausted, but the hotel did fall over,” I mumble, rubbing my eyes. “Or not - it didn’t fall over, exactly. It burned, and got smashed, and - and - nevermind.”
“Excellent, I was just about to stop you,” says Gabby, who, to her credit, is only very slightly letting the alarm show in her voice. “If you burn down any buildings I don’t want you to tell me about it, just for the record. Same goes for Aiden.”
“Oh, no, we didn’t! What happened to the cop car was our fault, though.”
“Okay, Jamie, I’m assuming that you - no, I’m hoping that you - no, not even that. I know you’re not joking. And what did you say about a saucepan?”
“I - nothing.”
“Even very good liars don’t get too far with me, you know. Sometimes paranoia can be a helpful tool.”
“Do you think of yourself as paranoid?” I ask, caught by surprise. “That’s not how I’d describe you.”
“Not very, but at least a little. I spent a lot of time in high school like - who knows? Has anyone figured me out? It’s probably because of that.”
I breathe out a sympathetic laugh. “Mhm, I know the approximate feeling. All part of the gay high school experience, too.”
“So much to unite us all, really.”
I let out another laugh, then wince a little. “God, though, I’m sorry I didn’t update you sooner than this! Everyone is okay, I promise. And as City Manager of Ketterbridge I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that there’s no longer a corrupted witch illusion roaming the forest around these parts, messing with the electricity.”
“I - I suppose I am,” Gabby laughs helplessly. “I’ll be glad to have my archivist back, too.”
“He’s excited to come back, he just said so! Do you want to say hi to him? Aiden, it’s Gabby-” I break off, having turned to look at the archivist in question. “Aw, he’s asleep.”
I smooth a hand over his chestnut hair, then add adoringly - “But he was so amazing this weekend, Gabby! You should have seen him, it was… I don’t even know how to explain how incredible he was…”
I trail off, noticing the little smile that just turned up Aiden’s lips. Not asleep, then. Maybe just too tired to say anything or open his eyes.
“And what was the Witch like?” Gabby asks curiously, dropping her voice to an extra confidential whisper.
“She turned out to be really cool! Even helped us pull one over on the cops. She was down to get Noah high on magic weed, too, but Aiden said no.”
“Wh… what does that mean? No, don’t tell me. Nevermind. No more details, please. I’m all set. Just to confirm - you said everyone is alright? One-word answers only.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re on your way back to Ketterbridge?”
“Yes.”
“The hunt is over, the illusion has been taken care of.”
“Yes.”
“And Noah didn’t smoke the magic weed.”
“He did not, no. Ask him about it if you want. He’ll probably complain to you about Aiden stopping him.”
“Good.” I can hear the relieved smile in Gabby’s voice. “Then come back home, you two.”
I say goodbye to Gabby, then make sure Aiden is strapped in. He’s really asleep this time, I can tell. I put on the playlist I always have on when we drive back like this, just in case.
I slowly run my fingers through his hair, then plant a kiss on his forehead. With one hand on my sleeping Heliomancer’s knee, I pull us away from the curb, and set off for home.
~~~~
Luna is happy to see us. She gives the saucepan a playful chase around my legs upon being introduced. It takes me a minute to break that up and recapture our new piece of living kitchenware.
“Can you understand me?” I ask, as I carry the saucepan into the kitchen. “You’re welcome to stay here, but you have to not move around while other people are here. People besides the ones you’ve already met, anyways. That’s very important, okay?”
I can’t tell if it knows what I’m saying, but it seems pleased with the kitchen, after doing a hop around to explore. When I turn on the sink it springs up onto the counter and happily lets me wash it off. It reminds me of Nugget, who loves the baths my dad gives him, always rolls around excitedly in the bubbles.
The saucepan gives off the impression of being pleasantly tired by the time I finish drying it off. Without any prompting, it hops up to the pot rack, hooks itself on, and seems to settle down. I watch it curiously for a moment, but it appears to be taking a nap in the sunlight, so I leave it alone and head outside.
My garden is a treat for the eyes, in the blossoming fullness of the last days of summer. The rich, tangled overgrowth is so vividly colorful, the air remarkably sweet and fresh. Swirls of petals and golden leaves flutter away from their home branches with each gust of breeze.
My kitchen garden has gone unharvested for a bit. I beam with delight to see how much has grown in. Everything looks so ripe and beautiful. I’m so tired, but I can’t wait. I go get my basket and sit on my knees in the mud, leaning out over all the colorful growth to gently, carefully gather it all up.
When I’m all done I take the full, heavy basket back into the house. It looks nice on the kitchen counter, practically overflowing with herbs and veggies and edible flowers. I rearrange it a little, then leave it there for Aiden to find later.
It’s heaven to finally step into the shower. I nearly fall asleep under the hot water, but Luna starts mewing for her afternoon snack. I stumble into my sweatpants to take care of her, chop up some fruit for Jumble, then finally slip into the bedroom.
Aiden is stretched out on his back on the bed, his bronze skin glowing with leftover heat from the shower. His powerful arms are flung up over his head, folded back beneath the pillow. The staggering view of his biceps alone stops me in the doorway, having fully forgotten what I planned to say.
“Hi,” he mumbles, then blows a strand of glossy chestnut out of his eyes, too tired to lift his hand.
I come over to the bed and smooth it back for him, letting my fingertips trace over his temple. “Hi.”
“I’m so tired,” he sighs, kissing my palm.
“I am, too.” I sit against his side, appreciating the velvet-soft warmth of him. “The saucepan seems to like the kitchen, though, and the saplings look okay. And the kitchen garden had so much for me to harvest! Too much, even. I grew those hot peppers you wanted, but way too many, by accident? They’re so huge, too! Maybe because I did companion planting, putting them near the carrots and the marigolds…? Doesn’t matter. I can’t imagine we need that many peppers, is what I’m saying. Maybe we should bring some to the farmer’s market this weekend and see if anyone feels like bartering. Do you think, if I throw in some cilantro, someone would trade us for a few-?”
Aiden breathes out a huff of laughter. “Love how you’re like… I’m so tired… and then you just go ahead and talk for a whole minute without stopping for a breath, anyways.”
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
“No, what?” Aiden murmurs, smiling warmly. “Don’t be sorry, I was listening… ‘n don’t you trade away those peppers, either. I’m gonna dry some of them so I can make chili powder, ‘n probably also make some… homemade hot sauce, and pepper jam… I know we can get all that stuff from the store, but everything’s way, way better… when it comes from your…”
He trails off, too exhausted to keep explaining. I struggle to fight back an enormous smile, more pleased than I care to admit with that particular compliment. Suddenly I want to plant a kitchen garden twice as big, full to bursting with things Aiden likes to cook with. Rose bushes for rosewater, fresh garlic for him to chop up, pale purple saffron flowers in their fall bloom, and trees, too, for pomegranates and pistachios and orange blossoms, whatever he wants -
I widen my eyes at myself, blushing in embarrassment. Jesus, Jamie, calm down.
“Well, I’m happy to take requests from the chef,” I tell him, playfully poking his chest.
“I know,” he laughs, his deep, soft-spoken voice slurred with sleepiness. “Given I asked you for a few hot peppers and you grew me a giant pile of all different kinds of them.”
“Just be careful, because they’re powerful. I used gloves to pick them. You should watch out for the small red ones especially. They’re painfully hot. They can be sweet, but they will turn around and bite you without warning.”
Aiden smiles without opening his eyes, catching a handful of my red hair to mess up. “Don’t I know it.”
I crinkle my nose up at him indignantly as I push his hand away. He doesn’t see it, but he must know I’m doing it, because he lets out a deep chuckle.
“I meant about the peppers, Aiden!”
“So did I,” he answers, all innocent.
“Yeah, okay.” I let out an adoring laugh, then lean down to kiss his jaw. “So you’ve got energy to mess around, huh?”
“Honestly, no,” he laughs helplessly. “That was all I had. I’m done now.”
“It’s okay.” I tuck my face into the warm nook of his neck, kiss the soft spot beneath his jaw, then start to get up. “Get some sleep. I’m just going to double-check that I put the buttermilk on the windowsill-”
“You did.” Aiden catches my wrist before I can go, then smooths the pad of his thumb over my palm. “Don’t leave.”
My heartbeat stumbles shyly. “Okay. I won’t.”
Aiden doesn’t answer, which gives me some time to just sit there and look at him. A flustered blush slowly gathers in my cheeks as he stretches out more comfortably, providing me with a view of his unbearably beautiful body. The outcropping of glossy chestnut falling forward over his brow, the way his breathing moves his muscled chest, his beard rugged with a few extra days of growth, the tired smile turning up his lips and crinkling up the corners of his eyes…
It’s almost too much to cope with. I wish Kasey was here so I could direct an agonized look her way. She’d sympathize.
Aiden’s hand rests warm and heavy on my thigh. The connection isn’t open. No energy is moving between us. Completely without the help of magic, heat and electricity slowly spread from his fingertips up into my body.
Unable to resist, I lean down and drip slow, lingering kisses down the slope of Aiden’s neck. Taking deep breaths of the warm, elusive scent of his skin, trailing my fingertips over his bare chest. Aiden is too tired to do more than clumsily grab at me a little, but even that, the infinite intimacy of his strong hands on me, makes my heart trip up again. I make the kisses on his neck last longer, and he lets his head fall to the side with a soft sigh, exposing more of his throat for me.
Passion rises up in me, throbbing through my body in slow, molten waves that come with my every heartbeat, over and over again. The electricity building between us makes my muscles tremble and my cheeks ache with a deep, glowing blush so hot I wouldn’t be surprised if Aiden could feel it against his skin.
I draw back, then hold his jaw open as I kiss him, savoring the honey sweetness of his tongue. He lays back and lets his lips be coaxed apart, too sleepy to do anything else.
Once I break off the kiss, I sit back and look down at him, thinking. It’s obvious he’s out of energy to do anything - he hasn’t even opened his eyes - but I don’t care. I just want him, if he’s up for that.
I tentatively slide my fingertips beneath the waistband of the jogging shorts he’s wearing, catch a glimpse of the hopeful smile that flickers across his face, and smile, too.
I slowly kiss my way down his body, pushing the shorts down as I go. I drop them to the floor, then spread his thighs further apart for him. He lets out a slow, shaky rush of breath as I lower my head and lightly graze my tongue over him. One of his feet flexes and unflexes, his heel digging into the bedding as I start to do what I want with him.
Usually he’d take a handful of my hair. Sometimes he uses it to hold my head down in his lap. He’s noticed I like that, and clearly decided that he likes it, too. But this time he’s too weighed down with exhaustion to even lift his hand from the bed. Unable to move at all, except to buck his hips pleadingly every now and then, but he's all eagerness. It shows.
I listen as his little sighs gradually turn into heaving ones, as his voice begins to rumble low in his throat with short, stuttering moans. His dark lashes flutter and his cheeks burn with a crimson heat glow as he strains against the bedding. His chest rises and falls in fast, staggered bursts between spells of holding his breath.
I can’t help but take advantage of this opportunity to tease him. The bedroom alternatingly goes from silent - aside from the sound of his panted breaths and the gasping, inarticulate bursts of his voice - to full of hushed, caressing whispers as I draw back and use my hands while I talk to him, saying things to make him blush even deeper.
I go back and forth until suddenly it’s all too much for Aiden. Out of nowhere, he finds the energy within himself to seize a tight, hard handful of my hair. Suddenly my head is held down in his lap, and I’m listening to the prolonged, broken groan spilling from his lips.
He starts to lift my head, then wrenches me right back down again, startling a muffled moan out of me. My cheeks are raw, on fire from the blush burning in them. White-hot desire threatens to devour me whole as Aiden grips my hair tightly, holding me in place until all the tension in his body releases. It’s all I can do not to moan again.
Aiden lets me go and lays back, breathing hard, trembling. I sit up dazedly, running a hand over my mouth.
“I’m s-sorry,” Aiden pants, reaching down to touch my hair again, much more gently this time. “Are you alright? Was that too, um - I w-was - I was barely even thinking-”
“No,” I stammer, wishing for some cool air to take the heat out of my cheeks. “No n-no, it wasn’t too anything. Don’t be sorry at all.”
Aiden breaks into a relieved smile as I climb up to lay beside him. He closes his tired eyes again, but keeps right on smiling, still struggling to get his breath back.
“Damn, boy,” he purrs, half-laughing, his deep voice vibrating through me. “You really know-”
Seeing the opportunity, I give him a sharp bite, right on his shoulder. He lets out a startled little yelp, stares at me in betrayed confusion, then lets out a sputter of exasperation when he abruptly remembers what he said about the red hot peppers.
With a burst of renewed energy he catches me by my waist. Suddenly I’m flat on my stomach on the bed, with Aiden laying over me.
I was already all the way turned on. I know I’m giving that away right now by how eagerly I seize hold of Aiden’s arm to keep myself in place as he presses himself against me. Balancing on one elbow, he catches my jaw in his hand and turns my head until I’m looking over my shoulder at him. He kisses me slow and deep, teasingly rubbing himself between my thighs until I let out a muffled moan against his lips.
He draws back, smiling happily.
“There we go.” He lets out a satisfied sigh. “You moaned into my mouth like I wanted. Now we can go to bed.”
“What?” I ask desperately. “But - I-”
“Goddamn, you even taste sweet,” Aiden murmurs peacefully, settling himself down completely on top of me, pinning me in place with his warm weight. Smiling a slow, dreamy smile. “All this sugar can’t be good for me.”
“Stop it!” I laugh weakly.
Oh, god. I’m resisting the urge to start begging. I know what’s about to happen. He’s going to fall asleep on me and leave me like this, painfully turned on and worked up and unable to do anything about it because of how he’s got me pinned down. It’s happened a few times before. Last time I ended up laying there tortured with unsatisfied desire for so long that I fell into some kind of restless, feverish dream state. I got so desperate that I would have done anything for the smallest amount of friction. I fell asleep on and off and dreamt that I’d gotten it, only to startle awake and find myself still helplessly held down beneath Aiden, acutely aware of every place where his body was pressed against mine. I practically pounced on him when he finally woke up.
I have a feeling that’s exactly why he’s doing it again, based on the playful tone of his deep voice as he murmurs - “Yeah? Stop it?”
I turn my head to meet Aiden’s sleepy blue eyes. They have that certain shine playing over them. The sweet, warm, slightly flustered one that appeals to my heart on some level so close to its center that I’ve never been able to put it into words.
Thankfully I don’t always need words with Aiden, who sees my answer and more in my eyes. He smiles radiantly, kisses my cheek, then settles down over me again.
I rest my cheek on the blanket and close my eyes, trying to calm down. I hear a hushed, rhythmic sound, and realize that it started to rain softly at some point. I hadn’t noticed at all. Everything else melts away so completely when I’m alone with Aiden like this.
A chilly breeze sweeps across the garden outside. I open my eyes to see silver and grey clouds closing over the sky, completing the transformation from a sunlit morning into a cold, rainy afternoon. A good day to stay in bed.
Aiden is already sound asleep. I close my eyes and settle down beneath him. Listening to the rain as it falls over my garden, to the rhythmic thump of Aiden’s heartbeat against my back. Golden Heliomancer happiness shines out from his bronze skin, glowing softly in the falling light.
I let out a blissful sigh, my toes curling in the blankets.
It feels good to be home.
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